In case you’re reading this and somehow missed the game, today’s Giants game was a 6-2 loss to the Mets in 12 innings. That’s a sad score just by itself, but extra-inning losses sting a lot more with the grotesque runner-on-second rule, and this one was no exception. However, this game was not without its positives.
Today’s Giants starting pitcher, Anthony DeSclafani, was removed from the game with what looked like an ankle injury after 1.1 innings of fine pitching, which prompted an unexpected bullpen game, with Jose Alvarez, Zack Littell, Jarlin Garcia, Dom Leone, and Tyler Rogers combining for 6.2 innings of shutout baseball, only surrendering two hits and striking out five. The thought of a bullpen game in April or May of this season would’ve been a seemingly sure loss. Today, the bullpen was stellar on extremely short notice (until Jake McGee).
To repeat what I said before, extra-inning losses feel even worse with the runner-on-second rule, and this one was no exception. To recap the late innings of this game (viewer discretion advised), Jake McGee hit a batter and gave up a single and sac fly to lose a 1-0 lead in the 9th. Both teams traded runs in the 11th, and the Mets scored 4 unanswered in the 12th. It’s very understandable to be upset with Jake McGee’s performance, but here’s a reminder that he’s the reigning NL Reliever of the Month, he’s had bad stretches before this year, and he came into the game with a 2.66 ERA, 3.88 xFIP, and 3.26 SIERA. And usually, he can afford to give up one run, because the Giants are usually winning by more than 1.
Tyler Chatwood. A running joke among MLB’s most dedicated fans because of his consistently high walk rates, he made his Giants debut in an extremely difficult spot, and given the fact that he was literally the last one left in the Giants bullpen, I don’t think even he thought he’d pitch today. (Kapler has a reputation of being very honest with his players about how he’ll use them.) So, I’m not really that mad at Chatwood, and I’m more mad that the guy who got the winning hit was Kevin Pillar, the former Giant with a history of bigoted remarks. (Side note: Chatwood has been in the majors since 2011. I had no idea.)
One last positive, courtesy of Randy Winn on the postgame show: Hopefully the Mets gained some confidence with this game, and they’ll ride that confidence into Los Angeles and sweep the Dodgers.
Oracle Outsider 